


The Sound of Silence

by thinlizzy2



Category: Bride and Prejudice (2004)
Genre: Coming Out, Female Friendship, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 10:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5453171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/pseuds/thinlizzy2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chandra, Lalita and a snapshot of their friendship in the eye of a wild Bakshi storm.  Some things that change and others that never will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sound of Silence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chasing_givenchy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasing_givenchy/gifts).



Mrs. Bakshi was shouting. 

That was nothing new and Lalita Bakshi Darcy was honestly pretty good at just putting the phone down on the desk and walking away, at least most of the time. She could get a snack, fix her nails, maybe check out a bit of the newspaper, and make it back just as her mother's ranting was winding down and she could finally get a word in edgewise. But this time she felt pinned to the phone, trying desperately to cut into the wall of words descending on her even though she knew she might as well have tried to hold back the tide. 

"Everyone is saying that they always knew something was wrong with that girl. She never smiled at the boys; she never even showed an interest. Some handsome boys all looked at her, but nothing. And then she marries _Kholi_ of all men? I mean, really!" 

Lalita tried hard not to roll her eyes, then remembered that her mother couldn't see her and so gave in to temptation. Even putting aside her mother's sudden disdain for Mr. Kholi (who was apparently good enough for her but not Chandra now?) the brazen rewriting of history was impressive. Back in India, when Chandra had been a shy girl who kept her eyes down and didn't seem to notice boys, no one had said anything negative at all about it. If anything, Mrs. Bakshi's gossipy friends had praised her for being modest and sensible and had noisily proclaimed that they wished their own daughters were more like her. In truth, Mrs Bakshi had - more than once - loudly voiced her wishes that Chandra's obedience would rub off on her own headstrong daughter and had not long ago expressed her relief that Chandra would be in America with Lalita, reminding her of her heritage and of how good Indian women were meant to behave. 

Which was why, despite the seriousness of the situation, it was difficult not to laugh down the line at her mother. 

"But I told them no, it's America." Mrs Bakshi was still going on. "All of those desperate housewives and real Kardashians and such. They turn a girl's head and confuse her. I remember when we came to visit you and there were ads everywhere. Lift your parts, wax your parts, bleach your parts! How on Earth is a woman supposed to stop thinking about other ladies' parts?" 

_So you're gay now, Mama? The ads made you gay?_ Lalita bit her tongue to keep the questions from escaping. She knew better. Instead, she figured that she might as well cut straight to the heart of why her mother was really calling. If nothing else, she'd have to address it if she ever wanted to actually get off the phone. "And then they pointed out that you have a daughter in America too, right? So what about me?" 

Her mother drew a breath. When she spoke again, her voice had a different tone. "You and Chandra were always very close, Lalita. You used to share your beds when she came to stay the night and you'd try on clothes together. At the time, I just thought you were good friends, but-" 

"I'm straight, Mama.: Lalita couldn't hold back a sigh. "I'm straight and I have to go now." 

"Well, of course you're straight!" A layer of indignation could only do so much to cover the relief in Mrs. Bakshi's voice. "That's what I said, but you know Mrs. Khanna! She said that many young women-" 

"Got to go, Mama - love you - bye!" Lalita replaced the phone in its cradle and then moaned as she brought her head down to rest on the polished surface of the desk in front of her. She wished Will were home to make her see the funny side of her mother, her aunties and her whole hometown having collective meltdowns over Chandra's sexuality. But he would be in Beijing for two more weeks and he had learned long ago that if he cut every business trip short due to Bakshi family drama, he'd never get to go anywhere. 

The phone rang again, as she had known it would. That the caller ID said it was her family home calling was also no surprise. She had hoped her mother might wait until tomorrow in order to allow her indignation to build to truly epic levels but if she wasn't that lucky then she just wasn't. Ignoring this would only make it worse. She picked up the phone. "Yes, Mama?" 

"Lalita?" 

Her father's voice was tired and hesitant but still an infinite relief. "I'm so glad it's you." 

Across the continents, Mr. Bakshi laughed in understanding. "Your mother is raging. Expect to hear from her again soon." 

He was so obviously trying to keep quiet that Lalita couldn't resist teasing him. "You're hiding from her, aren't you. Where are you? In the attic? Under a bed?". 

Her father laughed again. "Ironically, I'm in a closet." 

Lalita snorted. "I take it you've heard then." 

"The whole town can speak of nothing else. But listen, Lalita. You must help Chandra. Talk to her and do whatever you can." 

Lalita's heart sank in disappointment. Someone else thinking she could somehow change Chandra's mind, whatever that meant. "Listen, I know everyone there thinks that Chandra just 'turned' gay. But that's really not how this works, anyway I really don't think she-" 

"Lalita, I know that. That's not what I mean. What I meant to say is that right now, she must need your help very much. She must be feeling very lost at the moment, in America. All of her money was Kholi's; her home is his. I don't know what plans she made before she decided to leave him but I know that her parents... they won’t be helping her." The disgust in his voice was palpable and Lalita felt a warm swell of affection for her sweet henpecked father. "So you must do what you can. Chandra has always been a sweet girl. I would hate to think of her feeling alone and frightened now." 

Lalita couldn't keep her heart from melting. She had long ago learned to tune out her mother's lectures but her father's sincerity could still get to her. She spoke quietly, hunching over the phone. "Listen, I-" 

There was a rustling sound on the phone, and then a burst of frantic speech, so fast and overwrought that Lalita couldn't even begin to understand the words. Her father sighed. "Lalita, I must go." 

"But Daddy-" 

"Really, Lalita. But remember what I said." 

She didn't even bother to get up, knowing the phone was certain to ring again. When it did, she was surprised to see that the number on her display was not Indian but British. 

She pressed the answer button. "Jaya?" 

"No, it's me. Is it true Chandra Lamba likes tits and fanny?" 

Lalita didn't even try to hide her groan. "Hello Lahki. I'm fine, thanks. How are you?" 

"Yeah, fine, cheers. Is she really a muff-diver?" 

Lalita considered pleading ignorance just to end this conversation faster, but she knew it probably wouldn't work. At any rate, Lakhi lived with Jaya, who was bound to start getting interrogating phone calls as soon as her family was convinced they had drained Lalita of everything she knew. She might as well just answer the question. "Chandra's gay, yes. As for the rest of those words, I have no idea. When did you start talking like that?" 

Lahki whooped. "That's awesome! Fight the patriarchy! Kick arse!" 

Lalita dropped her head into her hands. She wondered, not for the first time, how her mother would react if she ever figured out that Lahki's Women's Studies major wasn't about training to be the perfect wife and mother. 

"That's so cool!" Lahki was still going on. "Where is she living now? No one knows! I heard she left her husband in the middle of the night! Does she have a lover? Or more than one? Is she poly??? God, I wish I was queer. So subversive. But I can’t help myself; I love a six-pack so much. Did I tell you about this boy from Essex I met?" 

"Lahki!" Lalita seriously didn't want to hear about another of her sister's boyfriends. This was something else their mother definitely did _not_ have to hear about. "Lahki, I have to go." 

Despite that, it was another five minutes into her sister's monologue before she finally paused long enough for Lalita to say a proper goodbye. 

As soon as she got Lahki off the phone, she quickly mashed the off button with her thumb until the screen went blank. Then she banged the phone on the desk, hard. It made her feel a bit better, so she did it another few dozen times. 

"Bad news?" 

Lalita looked up. Chandra Lamba stood in front of her, clad in one of Will's old robes and a pair of unbelievably ugly slippers. Lalita was relieved to see that her friend looked a little less exhausted than she had when she had picked her up at the train station two days ago. She didn't look much less stressed though, which was a worry. "It's nothing." 

Chandra arched an eyebrow. "Who was it?" 

She could never lie to her friend. "Pretty much everybody." 

Chandra pressed her fingertips against her closed eyelids. It was a gesture Lalita knew well. She'd seen Chandra do it repeatedly the day she showed Lalita around the big, beautiful Californian home which the man who she'd inexplicably married owned. That was after she'd told Lalita that she wasn't brave like her. Lalita ached for her friend and what she hadn't been able to say that day. She reached over and tugged Chandra's hands down, letting her know it was okay to look now.

Chandra gave a faint smile and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "So they know I'm here?" 

"No." Lalita had given her word and meant to keep it. "And I won't tell anyone unless you want me to." 

There was a genuine sense of relief in the way Chandra slumped into an empty chair. "Thanks." 

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Lalita didn't want to press Chandra, but she also wanted her to know she was completely there for her. 

"Not yet, if that's okay." Chandra brushed her hair out of her face. "I want to drink wine. I want to eat ice cream and watch movies and take long naps. Talking, not so much. Not right now. Is that all right?" 

Lalita couldn't help herself from laughing out loud. She reached out and pulled her oldest friend into a hug. "Honestly? It's way more than all right! It may just be why you'll always be my best friend."

**Author's Note:**

> Written for chasing_givenchy for Yuletide 2015. I combined the prompts about the divorce in the extended family and Lalita and Chandra's epic friendship, and this was the result. I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> I was inspired by a theory I read that Charlotte Lucas was gay, and that was why she was willing to make the match she did; no other marriage would have been any more appealing. It was a lot of fun to explore it in this universe; thanks for the opportunity.


End file.
